Improved trimmer for la m p-wicks



41'is a perspective view of the same,.the han- ,ininvoanALvoRsoN, or `oAiii-minet, .u AssAoinfsErTs. 1

IMPROVEDTRIMQMER Fon `L AM P-wloKs.

l' Snecicationforming part of Letters Patent No. 24,804,dated July 19,1859."

.To all whom it may concern: .In

Beit know'n fthatgl, HALvoR HALvoRsoN, of Cambridge, in the county of Middlesex and `State of Massachusetts, have invented a new and Improved Implement for Trimming LampWicls and I do hereby declare` that 4the followingisa full,V clear, vand exactdescription ofthe same, reference bei-ng had to the annexed drawings, making a part of this specification, in which- Figure l is a longitudinal section of my invention, taken in the linea: Qc, Fig. 4.- Fig. 2

dles being`omitted;Fig. 3, a l`transverse section of thesame, taken in the line yy, Fig.

Fig. 4, aplan or top view of the same, showlng the implement in use or applied to its work; Fig. 5,3. perspective view of a modifica- ,tion of the same; Fig. 6, a perspective view of an ordinary pair etishears, shown applied to a wickUin the act of trimming the same'to illustrate more clearly thej character of my invention. j l g Si'milar'letters of reference indicate correspondingparts in the several gnres.

The object of this invention is to obtain an implement by which lamp-wicks, those termed andgenerally known as the dat wick, may betrimin'ed so as to have their top edges perfectly parallel with the .top edges of the wick# tubes, or trimmed in convex form, so as to insure an even" and' well-proportioned flame, and 'thereby obviate the-eliminationof smoke and unpleasant euvia attending the uneven. trimming of the wick by the .ordinary scissors orshears,

` The inventionconsists in the employment or use of gages in connection with aV proper cutting device, the gages being so arranged as to retain thewick or hold .it in proper po- 'sition whilebeing acted upenjby the'cutter or cutters, thereby iecting'thedesired end. To enable those skilled in 1 the," art to fully understand and construct Vmy invention, I will proceed to describe' it; L g A A represent two handles, which are'bonnected by a fulcrum-pin a, the handles crossing each other at theirg fnlzrum and having barsB C attached tothem, one to each, as lshown clearly in Fig. 4. Torone bar. B a knife or cutter D is attached, and to the other bar O a bed E of brass or other suitable soft metal, attachedto serve asf a bearing or anvilto receivet vPMENTJ,()If'liifiil4' knife or cutter. j I

In the bar C asereiv-rod F is p i'udinally and allpwed to'turn freely in 'suitable bearings i) b. This screw-rod has a small thumb-wheel c at its outer end, and a nut d is placed on said screw-rod. VThe nut d has a plate e attached to it, said plate being so bent or curved asto project over the face of the bed E and outward from it, as shown more partieularlyin Fig. 2.v To the face of the bed E a pin or projection f is attached.` The piu or projection f is permanently attached to the face of the bed E; but the plate e, it will be seen, by turning the rod F may be moved over the face of the bed E and yadj usted at a l greater or less distance from the pin or projection f,; as may be desired.l The pin f and the plate'e occupy/such a position on the bed E as to. permit the knife or cutter D. in closing to just clear their upper surfaces.

The device is used as follows: The'imple` ment is held in a horizontal position by the operator, and the plate e is so adjusted asio allow the space between Athe pin f and plate e to correspond with the width of the wick to be trimmed. The implement is so adjusted to the wick that lthe upper part of the latter its between the' platee and pinf and against the bed E, as shown 'in Figs. l, 2, and 4, the wickv being `represented in red. The handles A A are then forced toward each otherby the hand of the operator, theA bars B C of course yapproach eachother simultaneously with the movement of the handles A A, and the knife-D i cuts the wick'perfectly square or parallel with the top of the wick-tube, provided theimple-` ment be held perfectly horizontal. The plate e andl pinfserve as gages and. prevent thc wick expanding under the actionof the cntterl),` and consequently the/wick will be cut with a clean edge and rigl1t-angular corners. In using an ordinary `scissors or shears (see Fig. 6) it will be' seen that as 'che blades are forced together the wick will be expanded under the pressure or action of the cut and the wick will be left with one corner projecting4 o u`t laterally. A wick thus cut will be liable to smoke and burn with a very uneven flame. The gages e f, it will be seen, eftectually prevent such a result, asthey'conline the wick 'forced through the wick, whichl also jbeailsj against said bed when beingaetedupon bythe laced.longi;l

at its edges and prevent it expanding under i the action of the knife or `cutter.

In trimming a lamp-wick with the' ordinary scissors or shears the corners of thewiek after the top is cut off arefrequently clipped obliqnely toprevent'the contingenc)T above referred to. This is a good plan and frequently remedies the evil toja certain extent not perfect by anytmeans. e v

Inv certain cases'. acurved knife or cutter,

`may be used, as shown in Fig. 5, so that the wick may be out with 'a convex edge. This' may be preferable, as in many cases the`wiek vowingl toits texture and thexarefaction of theiburning material in its capillaries, will be expandedand made to protrude at the corner; so as to form an uneven edge Asimilar to that produced by a pair of scissors or shears. 4 y From the above deecription it will be seen that the gist of the invention consists in the employment or use of the gages e f to pre-` l ventthe ex'pandingiof the wick nnde'rtheaction of the cut/fers, and that different cutters or knivesmay be used for cutting the' wick, although, perhaps, the cutter and bed 'or anvil herein shovvn Aand. described may be as v lconvenient'and operate ,as well as anythat oonld bed'eeiredfor the purpose. v

' Having thnsdeeoribed my invention, what I' elaim as nem-and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

The combination, -`vith a knife D and bed or 

